On August 13th, 2025, Mr. Randall Karim, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs and Head of the Foreign Service, led a Trinidad and Tobago delegation to the 9th Round of Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean Countries that have Diplomatic Relations with the People’s Republic of China (also known as the China-Caribbean Consultations).
Held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, the meeting facilitated productive discussions between Caribbean and Chinese foreign ministry officials on proposals for deepening relations between both sides, as well as to address pressing international issues, including the climate crisis, the situation in Haiti, and the question of Taiwan.
Since the China – Caribbean Consultation was first convened in September 2002, Trinidad and Tobago has participated in all subsequent rounds of the meeting, in recognition of its usefulness as a mechanism for dialogue and consensus building. The 9th Round of Consultations was co-chaired by His Excellency Miao Deyu, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and Ms. Roxie McLeish-Hutchinson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Export Development of Grenada.
In his interventions during the meeting, Permanent Secretary Karim acknowledged China as a valued and reliable partner to Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region. On ways to improve cooperation, he called for: more timely hosting of the meetings under the China – Caribbean mechanism; the creation of additional China-Caribbean forums on key areas such as climate change, renewable energy, trade and investment and development financing; support for more coordinated Caribbean participation in China’s major trade exhibitions; expanding educational exchanges at the primary and secondary school levels; and greater connectivity between China and the Caribbean through direct air links. Both the China and Caribbean delegations subsequently agreed to earnestly pursue these additional areas of cooperation.
Accompanying Permanent Secretary Karim at the 9th Round of China – Caribbean Consultations were Mr. Adrian Thomas, Chargé d’Affaires, Trinidad and Tobago Embassy in Beijing, Ms. Charisse Semper, Senior International Relations Officer, Africa, Asia, Middle East and Pacific Division, Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, and Mr. Dwayne Thompson, First Secretary, also from the Embassy in Beijing.
